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Ixiti.com offers new place to find what's happening in arts, culture

In the mood to take in a play, attend an arts class or listen to a symphony?

Ixiti.com, a website that will link patrons to metro Detroit arts and cultural entertainment events, tickets and educational programs, officially launches to the public Saturday.

For devoted arts supporters, the site also offers opportunities to volunteer and make financial contributions.

Developed by CultureSource, the association representing nonprofit arts and culture organizations in Southeast Michigan, Ixiti.com also includes the events of for-profit companies.

CultureSource Executive Director Maud Lyon

"This is about creating an ongoing way where people can find out what's happening in arts and culture ... and the organizations can communicate that to people they couldn't reach any other way," said CultureSource Executive Director Maud Lyon.

The hope is that Ixiti.com (pronounced ixs'-it-tee) will become a go-to place like yelp.com to see what programs and events are happening cross Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Livingston, St. Clair and Monroe counties, she said.

Ixiti is meant to imply inspiration, imagination, ideas and innovation. "We liked the (letter) 'I' in it because they relate to what arts and culture organization do, and the word 'ixiti' is sticky; you remember it," Lyon said.

CultureSource so far has raised $800,000 of its $3 million, four-year development and operating budget for the site from funders including DTE Energy Foundation, Masco Corp. Foundation, Ford Motor Co. Fund, New York-based Ford Foundation and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan.

About 100 local organizations have contributed 300 to 350 items for posting on the site so far, Lyon said. Those range from the children's programs offered by Detroit-based Arts & Scraps and Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center to exhibitions at the University of Michigan Museum of Art and Holocaust Memorial Center to plays at the Fisher Theatre.

The public is agnostic to whether the event and program listings come from nonprofit or for-profit arts and culture organizations, so the site, developed by Grigg Graphic Services in Southfield, includes both, said Lyon.

However, only the association's nonprofit members are able to host a profile page describing their organization on Ixiti.com.

Visitors can key in a certain date and local ZIP code area they'd like to search or choose instead options categorized under the headings: "loud and fun," "quiet and reflective," "completely random" "free" and "for the kids." They can also opt in for newsletters focused on coming events or activities for children. Increasingly, parents are seeking out educational opportunities that are no longer offered in their children's schools, Lyon said.

CultureSource plans to capture ZIP codes as part of the opt-in for newsletters so it better understand the audience for arts and cultural organizations, she said.

"We want to grow Ixiti very carefully and deliberately," Lyon said. "We have the capability to do specialty newsletters in the future if we feel there's a market for it and have support for it."

In addition to offering free listings and links for the public, the site provides opportunities for joint marketing, Lyon said, with CultureSource identifying thematic programming that could be promoted together.

Regardless of their size or budget, all cultural organizations have budget constraints and need assistance to inform the public about their events, said Patricia Mooradian, president of The Henry Ford in Dearborn.

"Every one of the organizations on the site has lists of people we already market to," she said.

"Through ... Ixiti, they're going to be reaching a lot more people than any one organization can reach on their own."